1cuphot wateryes, it says hot water when using a bread machine
2Tablespoonsunsalted buttersoftened
1large eggbeaten
¼cupsugar
3 ½cupsall-purpose flour
1 ¼teaspoonssea salt
1Tablespooninstant yeast
3Tablespoonsunsalted buttermelted, for topping
Instructions
For Bread Machine:
Place ingredients into the pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Mine is a Breadman, so liquids go first.
Pour hot water, butter, sugar, salt, and beaten egg into the pan of your machine.
Add the flour. Make a small indentation in the center of the flour, and pour in the yeast.
Place pan in the bread machine. Plug in the machine and press the "dough" cycle button.
When the machine "beeps", check thru the window to see if the dough has risen sufficiently. DO NOT OPEN the machine if you can see inside, it lets the heat escape. If the dough does not appear to have risen (it should be near the top) then leave the lid closed and let it continue to rise. 30 - 60 minutes more will not hurt it.
For Stand Mixer:
Heat the water to 110 – 115 degrees, add the sugar and the yeast and wait 5 – 10 minutes for it to proof.
Place into your stand mixer with remaining ingredients and mix until well combined, about 4 minutes.
Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
To make the Hamburger Buns:
Remove dough and place on a well floured surface. Roll dough into a large ball and smooth and squish around in a circle to release the air bubbles.
At this point I weigh my dough. It is usually about 1lb 14 5/8 ounces. This will give me (8) 3 3/4 ounce balls of dough. Or you can simply separate the dough into 8 equal pieces.
Place dough balls on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet.
Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Remove the towel and brush the buns with about half of the melted butter. (just pretend that is a hamburger bun)
Place in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 - 18 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove buns from the oven and brush with the remaining butter.
Place on a rack to cool.
Notes
This dough is very forgiving. I usually start the dough and then go do whatever I need to do. Go to the store, take a shower, you have 1 1/2 hours while the machine does all of the work.
Divide and separate, then allow to rise for a second time. I have forgotten them before and they turned out just fine!